I was just wonder if and how ppl are using Wikis with their classes. I set one up for my 5th/6th kids last year and they seem to be enjoying it but I feel like I have run out of ideas to keep them interested. So I would like to hear what other ppl might be doing and what restrictions are placed on you by your education departments (or whoever runs the show in your neck of the woods) in regards to kids on the www.
http://www.wikipedia.com/ I have not used a wiki, but I mostly have had kids that would be too young to appreciate one. I think using one for that age is a great idea.
I have used it this year, we are in the process of doing a project on t6he animals in the tropical rainforest. They have been using it to do research on their animals. I will probably use it again.
I clicked on the link above but all I saw was a search engine for wikipedia. How do you use this with your students? Our students are not permitted to site any sources found at wikipedia because they say there are too many inaccuracies and that anyone can post articles without having the authenticated. How do you use this with students? Have you run into any snafus? Why aren't we allowed to let students use it and some schools can?
Sorry, maybe should have been clearer, I wasn't referring to Wikipedia, I meant creating and maintaining your own wiki as in wikispaces . com ...see educators section they're giving out free wikis to teachers. Same set up as wikipedia, a wiki is basically a website that anyone can edit. I set one up for my class, each child has their own home page and can add and edit content from home or school. It is VERY secure as I can see and delete any changes that a child makes, only ppl I invite as members can edit but anyone can see the site. I set up pages where they can review books we've read, scan and upload their artworks, add links to Word, PPT or excel things they've made and they can comment on each others work through a discussion board. I set it up because none of my class is Anglo Australian, they all have large family overseas and I wanted them to be able to share their work with their families at home and O/S. Was just wondering if and how others are using it.
Thank you so much for this post! I just signed up for a free site at www.wikispaces.com I'm not quite sure what we'll do with it yet, but it looks like a lot of fun and a great way to get some technology into the curriculum!
you're very welcome. my wiki is called srpps.wikispaces. you could have a look at what we have done this year....its not brilliant but the kids like it. I would be interested in hearning how you use yours
I use a wiki - but how do you (K1M) assign each child a homepage? Can only that child change things? I see you've posted your link - I'm going to check it out
Wow - this is a great thing! What a great way to use computer time in the classroom. Thanks for the idea. I subscribed too. Now I just have to figure it out...
I just made a page for each child, they are free to add to it as they go. With wikispaces anyone who is a member of that space can edit any unlocked page. So no not just that child. But with just one click on 'recent changes' you can see who has edited a page and immediately restore it back to how it was prior to editing if necessary. I have used a Wiki Warranty to ensure the kids play by the rules. I also have a zero tolerence policy, so any child who edits another's page without permission will removed from the site. So far it has never happened. http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/issues.cfm
I am more than happy to help anyone work out how to use wiki if get stuck. Just PM with your email address. They are REALLY easy and the guys at the help email answer you almost immediately.
Are there any others of you using wiki that are willing to post the web address on here so that I can see what some teacher pages look like and how you are using it in your classroom?
I just set one up... not sure yet how I will use it. I'm thinking of having the kids upload their picture, and doing a class bio page to send to our penpals. Then we can write book reviews, and other things.
First of all, if you sign up at this site as an educator, you can get it ad free http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K If you signed up already and you have ads, just e-mail them, tell them you are an educator and they will remove the ads. They are very helpful and will answer your e-mails almost immediately. You can assign each student a page by clicking on "edit navigation" on the left hand side. Type the student name, highlight it and click on the link icon in the tool bar. It will be linked to a page. Do that for each student. As K1M said, by clicking on history you can see who edited which one and when. I like it because I can be checking and making comments (I do it in bold capital letters) or suggestions. I always set mine up as protected so their friends and family can read it. No one can edit except those who have a password to that wiki. You can also set it on private and no one can SEE it without a password. We have recently hooked up with a class across the country to do a collaborative wiki for history. We are still in the setting up stages. Last year we did our research report on it. This page may be helpful to you. There is also a link for examples. http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Articles+and+Resources
have a look at this link within wikispaces. It takes you to a list of wikis set up by educators http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis
